One More Chance
by T2 Angel
Summary: A year ago, Misty broke Ash's heart. Now... she is willing to do whatever it takes to get him back. But is it already too late? AAML. One-shot.


A story that came to me and wouldn't let me go until I finished it. It has a moral and a point to it that I will get to at the end. It is an AAML. Check it out, folks. Considering the length and the time it took to write it, I'm really proud of this one.

Ash - 26

Misty - 26

Tracey - 27

DISCLAIMER: Nope, don't own Pokemon. Of course I wish I did.

* * *

**One More Chance**

Choices.

That's what it all came down to for Misty. The choices, or choice, she made and the consequences to them. Those same consequences tended to keep her up at night at random hours. One night she got entire six hours of sleep. She thought she was finally feeling better until she didn't sleep at all the night after. With a light work schedule as far as gym duties, it didn't bother her so much but the reason for the lack of sleep was the problem.

After waking up in her room, trying to remember the last time she got a full night's sleep, she contemplated the problem, the source of her lack of full rest. Then she remembered the last time she slept for a full night.

It was just over a year ago.

Before she made, what she has infinitely declared and had been proven to be, the worst decision… the dumbest decision of her life.

The decision that cost her the love of her life.

She shook her head at the thought. But, what was done was done. And, despite the pain and confusion, life had to go on.

Though… it didn't go far.

Misty was sitting alone in her gym, kicking her feet in the water. No gym battles had come by in a couple of weeks and she hadn't felt up to doing much else. Her thoughts went back to the same place they had always gone when there was nothing else on her mind.

Ash.

She tried not to think about him… but sometimes… it was impossible not to. She missed him. More than she could say.

And that was part of the problem.

The ringing of her doorbell brought her out of her thought processes… or process. She got up, drying off her feet, and walked to the front door. She opened it up and was grateful to see a good friend on the other side.

It was her favorite Pokémon watcher, even complete wearing his light red headband he was never without.

"TRACEY!" she screamed, excitedly.

"Hi, Misty!" he said, just as happy as she was.

They hugged. Misty had no idea Tracey was anywhere near Kanto but he was more than welcome. It did her good to see a friend. The friends she did have didn't seem to want to come around so much lately.

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. "It's been forever!"

"Seriously!" Tracey said.

"Come on inside."

They walked inside and went into Misty's dining room and sat down at the table.

"Wow," Misty moved a strand of hair from in front of her face. "It's been so long. What have you been up to?"

"Aww, nothing," Tracey said. "Just travellin'. And you?"

She sighed, "Nothing really. Just working here."

"That's cool."

They continued to make small talk for about an hour, talking about anything and everything. When they got to the subject of people they did and didn't mutually know, Misty started to get antsy.

There was one burning question on Misty's mind. She was doing every she could not to ask it but… a year. A whole year and she hadn't even talked to him. Tracey was her only hope as Brock all but outright said he wouldn't discuss Ash with her anymore, his answers only limited to 'he's doing okay.'

So, at the risk of being uncomfortable, she prepared to ask the most uncomfortable question of all… for her. Misty moved around awkwardly. "Have you, umm… heard… from… from Ash?"

Tracey looked at her, nervous. "Oh… ummm… yeah… he's-he's good."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Tracey nodded, awkwardly, "Doing… okay."

She shrugged. "What… what's he been up to?"

'_Dang, why'd she ask that?_' Tracey thought to himself. He shrugged, "N-Nothing much. Just… you know… being Ash. Just travellin' and battlin.' He's taking some time off right now but that's about it. Nothin' else, really. Nope. Just that."

One thing everyone knew about the watcher was this simple fact: Tracey is an awful liar.

Misty wondered why he even tried. "Tracey…" she groaned.

"What?" he asked, hoping to play it off.

"What are you leaving out?"

He knew he was caught but he did the best he could avoid divulging what else he knew. He knew it would devastate Misty. "Huh? What? Nothing."

"Tracey…"

He was still caught. He panicked into another plan. "Wow, your hair is awesome."

"Tracey." She could see through his façade.

That didn't work. Plan C. "Catch any new Pokémon?"

"Tracey!" Misty said, jumping in her chair.

"Alright, alright!" He groaned, not wanting to answer. But, he had no other choice. He wasn't leaving this gym without telling her. He stumbled around but eventually managed to speak, "He's… he's seeing someone, Misty."

At that moment, her world came to a screeching halt. "He's… he's what?"

The Pokémon sketcher groaned. "Y…yeah…"

She suspected that Tracey's news was something like that… but that didn't make it hurt any less. Misty fought the urge not to cry and succeeded but she didn't know how long that would last. "Who is she?"

Tracey didn't want this. He could see she was barely holding up as it was. "That's not import…"

"Just…" Misty interrupted him, "tell me… please…"

Tracey sighed. He didn't want to, figured he probably shouldn't, but he knew he had to. "Her name is Cecelia. She's from Saffron City. They met about… five months ago, I guess."

Misty slightly shrugged, "Is she nice?"

Tracey thought back. "She's cool. I've only met her once but… yeah, she's cool."

"Oh…" She sighed. "I'm… I'm glad he's happy then." Good grief, she had to force that out of her mouth. It was almost painful. Misty could swear she felt her jaw cramp.

Since the uncomfortable topic was already out there, almost literally on the table, Tracey went ahead and asked the one question no one besides Ash, Misty, and Brock could fully and completely answer. And the one question he had always been afraid to ask any of them since he heard about the breakup. "Misty… what happened between you and Ash?"

Misty looked at him and sighed. Save Brock, she had never talked about it with anyone, not even her sisters. All they knew was that she broke up with Ash and even they thought she was stupid. If she had gone into details, she would've confirmed that assessment. But, at this point, keeping it to herself was a waste of time. After all, not talking about it didn't hide what she felt was the truth which was… "I was stupid. The stupidest I've been since I decided to stop travelling with him, come back here, and run the gym." She scoffed. "Here I thought that was the single dumbest thing I would ever do in our entire relationship, friends or not." Her eyes welled up as she looked up, "How I wish that were true…"

_One year ago._

_The road to Cerulean City._

_Misty just told Ash that, Gin, an old boyfriend of hers recently came back into her life and she was still having the same feelings for him. She dated Gin while Ash was still travelling and she was back in Cerulean. They broke up after she found out about his massive amount of debt and his constant 'borrowing' money from Misty, which he never did and had no intention of paying back. They broke up after that and, about a couple of months later, Ash came back, confessing his feelings for Misty and hers for him, and they got together._

_This news of her wanting them to break up with him to give this guy a second chance was met with a bitter feeling for Ash. Especially with two years of dating under their belt._

_Ash stood there in disbelief. "So… what are you saying, Misty?"_

_Misty fidgeted around. "I… think I should give him a chance."_

_Ash just folded his arms. "Give him a chance…" he said incredulity._

"_Yeah…"_

"_So," he shrugged, "where does that leave us?"_

"_We… shouldn't…"_

"_Stay together, yeah, I figured that out myself," he interrupted, anger dripping off of his words. "I mean, besides that. Are we just done? Just like that?"_

"_Ash…"_

"_You know what? This is dumb. We've been friends… best friends for like what? 13 years, give or take, and together the past two. Now, you just wanna up and leave after all that?"_

"_Gin just…"_

"_Yeah, you told me about it. He needs help. Hasn't he said that speech before? What makes you think he won't do it again?" He paused. "And when he does, he'll just hurt you worse." He was quiet for a long time then pleaded, "Don't do this."_

_Misty didn't say anything. Until she said… "He needs me. He really does. Now more than ever."_

_Ash stood there in disbelief._

_She could see the look in his eyes and exhaled, deeply, "You don't get how hard this is for me…"_

"_And this is just sooooo easy for me?"_

"_No. But… I'm… just trying to do the right thing… and… you're gonna hate me for it."_

_He sighed. "I don't hate…" He paused. "I get you wanting to help Gin. Why are we breaking up so you can do that?"_

"_Because he needs someone."_

"_So let him find someone else."_

"_Ash…"_

"_You know what? I just need to know why what he needs… is so much more important than us."_

"_You… you've always been able to handle things… without anyone's help… you don't need…"_

"_Need you?" He had tears welling up in his eyes. "You think I don't need you?"_

_Misty just looked up at him._

_He couldn't cry, not now. He refused to look weak. He exhaled, harshly. "If that's how feel… after all this time… everything we've been through… then you know what? Do what you want." Ash turned to leave._

_Misty said nothing._

_He started walking. He was hoping she would say something to stop her._

_But she said nothing._

_Her heart and the rational parts of her mind yelled at her to scream how much she loved him and that she's wrong and get him back._

_But nothing._

_Ash walked away…_

_And Misty did nothing._

Present day.

"Like I said…" Misty exhaled. "This stupidest I've ever been."

Tracey was flabbergasted. No wonder no one talked about it. He knew better than to ever ask Ash but now he could see how hard it was for even Brock to allude to this. But, Tracey was still slightly confused. "What happened with the guy? Gin."

"What happened was Ash was right… like I knew he was… but couldn't admit it. Three months into it… he went right back to what he was. And I was stuck." She tried not to cry but tears were forming. "I was so embarrassed… at my own stupidity… I didn't even call Ash."

Tracey stared at her. He was quiet for a long time. He couldn't even imagine what she was going through. "Misty…"

"I know, Tracey. I don't even get mad when people look at me that way anymore." She tried not cry again. "I deserve it."

He wasn't going to yell at her. He knew it wasn't his place and she clearly beat herself up enough as it was. "Why didn't you ever go back to Ash?"

Misty looked at him, incredulously. "And say what? 'Hi, I'm sorry I ripped your heart for no earthly reason. Let's get back together'?" She shook her head. "He'd never take me back. It's too late, now, anyway."

Unfortunately… he was withholding information that would confirm that judgment more than she realized. The news was so big that it caused him to start looking around awkwardly.

Something Misty noticed. She figured he was uncomfortable about the subject but there seemed to be more on his mind. "What?"

He looked at her, unsure if he should say. He looked back down at the table.

Something was weighing on his mind, that much was obvious. She almost scared to find out what. "Tracey… what is going on?"

Tracey closed his eyes. "Misty… I talked to Ash the other day… he said that he and Cecelia are planning a trip to Goldenrod…"

"Okay…"

"And… and… well… he, uh…"

"What is it?"

He tried to catch his breath say his next words.

She grew very concerned. "Tracey… you're scaring me… just spit it out."

He looked as though he was going to hyperventilate but then he took a deep breath then blurted out, "They'regoingtheretogetmarried!"

It was run together, practically incoherent, very muddled, and nonsensical… and Misty heard clearly and understood perfectly every word.

She tried to speak but her throat locked up on her. After a minute of trying, she finally managed to say, "M… Marr-ied?"

He closed his eyes. "Y-yeah…"

She looked down at the table and placed her hands on it to steady herself. She looked as though she was going to throw up or pass out… or both. In which order, was questionable. She started breathing erratically.

Tracey rushed over and placed his hands on her shoulders. She fell into his chest and cried as hard as she didn't want to but couldn't help.

He just put his arms around her. "Shhh…" he said. "It's okay, Misty." He sighed, "It's okay."

Misty shook her head against his shirt. "It's not okay… it never was… not since I left…" She cried some more. It went on for a few minutes. "I've lost him, Tracey… I screwed up… and lost the love of my life…"

He shook his head. "Maybe it's not too late."

She sniffed and looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

While he imagined he shouldn't, Tracey couldn't help himself. He, at least, had to give Misty a chance to redeem herself and get Ash back. Misty was his friend, too, after all. "They're going there in about a week." He shrugged, "There may be a chance."

"For me to do what?"

"Go talk to him."

She hadn't even considered that. It would be her only chance. And that was what she really wanted: another chance. Just one more chance. "What would I say?"

He stared at her. "What you need to."

Misty just stared at him then looked straight ahead.

It would be hard. It would be rough. But it would be necessary. She had to do this.

Two days later, Misty was in her car, driving to the one place she thought she'd never return to; though, in her heart, she was always wanted to go back. The place where she felt at home, even more so than Cerulean at one point. The hometown of her one true love. The man she drove away.

She was on her way to Pallet Town.

She had to see Ash.

This was her only chance to apologize. Her only chance to try and make things right.

Her only chance to get him back.

Misty parked her car in the park, near Ash's house. She stayed in her car, after turning it off. She sat there for a while to think about she was about to do.

She remembered how she ruined her relationship with Ash a year ago… and how what she was honestly about to do was possibly ruin his current relationship by even asking him to take her back. She took her keys out of the ignition and held on to them for a second. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. But she had to find out. She got up the courage to get out and stood looking at Pallet.

It had been so long since she had been back. Man, it was a peaceful town. Just homes, parks, and land… nothing but a community. So peaceful… so quiet… it was one of the perks that came with being with Ash. It was like the world didn't matter here. It was one of the reasons she talked to him a year ago on the road back to Cerulean and not in his hometown. There was no way she could face him here. Not on his home turf.

But she had to get over it now.

If there was ever a way to do this… it had to be here, in his hometown, in his world, on his turf. No matter how uncomfortable it was for her, she had to do this.

She walked through the town, hoping that no one recognized her. Fortunately, that worked in her favor. She couldn't risk anyone calling Ash ahead of time. He might leave and she would never see him again.

Minutes later, she stood in front of the last place she ever thought she would stand again.

Ash's house.

She knew it well. When they were together, even when they were just friends, she spent a lot of time here. Ash's mother, Delia, always told her how welcome she was. She took a few deep breaths and started walking up the stone path. She was praying he was home and praying he was alone. They needed to talk and it needed to be without any interference.

She reached her hand to knock on the door but stopped.

Her fear came rushing in.

She shook her head. She had to do this.

She reached up and knocked on the door.

For a few seconds, there was no sound. But that few seconds felt like hours to Misty. She started to think that maybe Ash was out on a date… with Cecelia… or… maybe… they already left for Goldenrod.

She couldn't take it. She knocked again.

"Alright, alright," Ash's voice came from the other side.

Misty's heart skipped a beat just at the sound of his voice.

"Just a sec…"

She heard him unlatch the lock on the door and it opened.

Then… for the first time in over a year… Ash and Misty… were face to face.

The second he locked eyes on her, Ash stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe it. "M-M…Misty?"

Misty opened her mouth to speak but the words didn't come out immediately. She was already hypnotized by his dark brown eyes and that stunningly handsome face of his. She didn't think it was possible… but he looked even more attractive and handsome than she remembered. She wanted to kiss him so bad it almost hurt but that would have to wait. When she finally found words again, she stumbled around them. "Uh… umm… Hi… Ash…"

Ash almost forgot all bodily functions as he had no clue what to do next. Wow, she looked beautiful… even more so than when he last saw her. But then it came back to him what happened when he last saw her…and so did the hurt. Seconds later, courses of action came back to him. One thought was to slam the door in her face. But, despite everything, she didn't deserve that. If she came all the way, then a talk needed to talk place.

No matter how painful.

After looking back to make sure no one else was in the doorway or could see who was at the door, Ash walked further outside, closing the door behind him. Though they were napping inside, he didn't want Pikachu or his mom to know she was here or hear this conversation that wasn't going to pleasant for either of the participants already.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I…" Misty said, timidly, "I… came to see you…" She paused. "Can we talk?"

"Uh… yeah, yeah…" He paused then looked at the house. "Let's… let's take this away from the house." He walked further from the house, Misty walking next to him.

They walked back on the path towards the park where Misty's car was. Once they were a good enough distance away, about the midway point between the park and his house, Ash stopped. They were by the lake in town, looking over it. There were a lot of memories for both of them here. The same Misty tried not to think about on her way to Ash's house but, at the same time, drove her to go to the house.

She wanted to make more memories with Ash. Good ones.

They stood looking at the lake for a few minutes in total silence, both trying to figure out what to say. Ash had a year to think about the number of things he wanted to say to Misty and had made quite the list. Unfortunately… none of them were coming to mind right now. They all flew out of the door the second he opened it and found her standing there.

"Why'd you come see me?" Ash asked, looking over at him.

She paused, looked up at him, and did her best to smile. "Does a girl need a reason to come see her best friend?"

That one statement… irritated Ash to no end.

And the irritation radiated off of his face.

Her smile instantly dropped. She realized her wording just now was horrible.

He turned to fully face her. "Best fri…" He stopped. "Really?" He wanted to scream but he did his best not to and succeeded. The irritation then went into his body language as he folded his arms. "Really? A year? A whole year? And… _now_… you come to see me? And best friend? You purposefully ignore a best friend for a year?"

She looked away, afraid.

"Why?"

Misty looked at him then immediately looked away. "I… I, uh…"

Ash swallowed his urge to scream at her. This stumbling around from her was not helping. "Well?"

"I… just wanted to come see you…"

He looked at her confused. "For what?"

"What do you mean?"

"Misty… a year. A whole year. Not one word. Not even when Gin left you."

She looked at him surprised.

He could tell that she didn't know he knew. "Yeah, I heard. Brock told me. But you know what hurt? You didn't have the guts to come tell me yourself. So, why now? What's changed?"

She tried to answer. She couldn't lie to Ash. He'd know it in a second. That's how well he knew her. Another reason she hated herself for throwing away their relationship. But she knew the truth would just anger him more.

At her silence, Ash went through his mind and thought of all possible reasons she would show up here and now. All the possible explanations that could have possibly spurned her on to finally make this trip to see him after all this…

Then… one singular explanation came to mind.

"Tracey…" Ash surmised.

Misty looked at him surprised, then looked away scared.

"He told me he was going to Cerulean. He mentioned something about Cecelia, didn't he?"

She looked down at the ground, very scared.

"Didn't he?"

She absolutely, positively could not look at him. It was too much.

"Unbelievable… un-freakin'-believable…"

She didn't look at him.

He laughed in shock and frustration. He rubbed his face with both hands, "Oh, my God, Misty… are you kidding me? Really?"

She didn't say a word.

He did his best to hold it in but he just couldn't anymore. For the first time their long history, out of anger and frustration, Ash yelled at Misty. "You hear about another girl and you FLY down here?! Not a word… for a year! A YEAR! And, that was after you… YOU… you left me! But no word! Not a 'how are you,' 'are you okay,' no! You couldn't even trust me to be there for you when Gin left! You didn't even trust me as your FRIEND anymore! But another girl! Doesn't make you pick up the phone… it makes you COME SEE ME?!"

She wanted to cry. Ash never got angry. Ash had never yelled at her before, not like this. Ash didn't yell at people, period… without good reason. Whenever he did shout, it was either for encouragement, playfully, or when he really needed to get through to someone. This is pure anger and rage. Good grief, what had she done?

He put his hands up in surrender. "Wow. I am NOT about to do this with you." He started to walk back home.

This time, though, when he walked off… she had to stop him.

"Ash, wait!" Misty cried out.

He stopped. He wasn't going to admit but her saying something this time, actually, worked in her favor. It didn't simmer his anger, though.

"Please, please, just hear me out!"

He turned around. He walked back up to her, "Last time I did that… you explained why you were breaking up with me."

"I know but…"

"But? What but? What do you even want?"

"I don't know!" she cried out. At this point, she was struggling to try to remember why she came back here. She almost couldn't believe she had the audacity to ask for a second chance with him.

"And NOW is the time for you to come tell me that? Because a year ago, ya sure as heck knew what you wanted then!"

She shied back. "I was… I was confused… I-I didn't…"

"Actually, yeah, ya did. You left." He paused. He didn't want to say his next words… but they came out anyway. A lot softer than he ever wanted to confess to. "You really hurt me."

Ash would never admit to pain of any kind. Ever. The fact that even did so… told her how deep that wound went. "I know…"

Anger came back. "No, you don't! Because, if you did, I would have gotten a phone call. You see, I wouldn't be HALF as mad… if you just picked up a freakin' phone!"

"I wanted to…" She looked at him. "I wanted to so many times… you have no idea."

He spread his arms out, "Then why didn't you?" He dropped them.

"Because… I… I was… afraid…"

He didn't believe her. "Okay, I'm done." He started to walk away again.

She was surprised. She really didn't understand where that came from. "Wha-Why?"

He stopped and chuckled in anger, "Really? 'I was afraid.' A year… and that was the best you could come up with?"

She looked at him, confused, "The best I can… You think I'm lying?"

"What am I supposed to think?"

"That I was afraid."

"You weren't afraid to tell me that you wanted to leave me for another guy!"

She stopped. While she was afraid to tell him that… she sure did tell him.

"So… if you want to talk… you have got to do better than that."

She thought about it. Why was she here? Was she really trying to get him right? Did she want him not to hate her? Did she really want him not to be happy with someone else because she ended it and realized her mistake?

"Well?" Ash asked.

She looked up at him. "I just wanted… to say I'm sorry."

He folded his arms, calming down greatly. That was what he needed to hear from her. "Not a bad start," he admitted. "What else?"

She sighed. "And… I know I screwed up… a year ago… I screwed us up. I… was wrong. I never should have left you. Gin did everything you said he was going to… you were right… and I'm sorry."

He remained silent.

"And… and I… I wish… this never would have happened…"

The primary problem with Ash trying to stay mad was that he knew Misty all too well. He could tell that she recognized that she majorly screwed up and was remorseful for it. He could tell she genuinely meant every word.

And that was driving him crazy.

Ash sighed. He was struggling to come to terms with this and get to the bottom of exactly what she wanted. "What do you want from me, Misty?"

She paused. She took a second. "Just… one more chance…"

He looked away from her. Part of him wanted to give her the chance but another part of him just couldn't let himself do it again. The pain was still there.

She then put it all out there, with all the honesty she had. "I… want us… back together… what we had."

He looked away, exhaled harshly, then looked back at her.

"I know you're in a relationship now but… I still love you, Ash… I always have."

He looked at her surprised. Genuinely surprised. "Love me?"

She nodded.

That simple admission made him fight every single urge had in his body to take her in his arms and kiss her. He couldn't. Not now. This needed to be settled first. So… he couldn't kiss her… not yet.

"I know that's hard to believe after everything but it's the truth. I do, Ash… I never stopped… not once… I know you can't believe that either… but it's true. And… a-and I know I messed up but we… I can fix it."

Most of his anger was gone at this point. "How?"

"I-I want us to start over… I'll take back everything I did… start a clean slate… I'll do whatever it takes… Even if I have to spend the rest of my life saying I'm sorry… I mean that, Ash… tell me what I have to do and I'll do it… I promise…"

She was starting to cry. He had to resist the urge to hug her, again. Ash knew that, if he did, this would never truly get resolved. And this needed to be resolved.

"Ash, please… please… please… give me one more chance… just one more chance… I know I don't deserve it but… I'm just asking… begging you, please… I'll do whatever it takes… for just one more… That's why I came here… for just one more chance… for you… for us… please…"

He found it hard to breathe normally. All of him was screaming to embrace her. But he just couldn't for some reason. He started to think that his own fear was getting in his way. And he needed to get rid of it. This was Misty. She was with him when no one else was, believed in him when no one else did. And was his only friend when it seemed like the world was against him. She deserved a second chance and more. He just needed to get over being hurt… and give it to her.

Her next words, however, took him totally by surprise.

"And… just… don't… don't marry her… don't marry Cecelia, please…"

A look of shock and confusion came over Ash's face.

It went unnoticed by Misty, as she was still hoping she could get through to him. "I mean… just give me…"

"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. Time out." He looked at very confused. "Who said me and Cecelia are getting married?"

She paused. "Well… Tracey did. I mean… when I talked to him a few days ago and he said he talked to you and that you and her were headed for Goldenrod to get married and…"

Ash groaned and threw his head back. "Can he never get a message right?"

"Huh?"

He looked back at Misty, a perplexed look still on his face. "Wait, if you're here now, that means…" He looked irritated, "Idiot. He didn't even get the _date_ right."

She was stunned. And her heart felt like it stopped. "You… you're already married…" She wanted to break into a million pieces and disappear forever. She was positive that would feel less painful.

He saw the look of hopelessness on her and tried to stop it. "Misty, that's not…"

She shook her head. "No… I'm sorry… I-I-I… sh-shouldn't have come here." She found it hard to breathe again, "I… I-I didn't mean to…" Tears were already falling. "I ruined everything… I ruined…" She started crying and she couldn't stop. She couldn't even speak anymore. She pressed her hands to her face. She wanted to walk off but her legs wouldn't work. In fact, they gave out as she sank to her knees.

The only man she ever truly loved was lost to her… and it was all her fault.

She never cried so hard in her entire life.

Despite his anger moments ago, he could clearly see how much this hurt her. It almost amazed him but she was hurt. He felt his heart strings tug again and he couldn't ignore them this time. He truly knew in his heart that Misty was sorry for everything and honestly wanted to make things right. He knew that he was afraid of letting her get close again. But he was far more afraid to lose her forever.

He resolved in his mind.

He needed her back.

He knelt down in front of her and put his hands up to relax her. "Misty…"

She kept crying.

"Misty… calm down… please?"

Her crying slowed. She struggled to catch her breath, "But…"

He put his hands on her arms, gripping them lightly. "Misty… listen to me."

She was still struggling to catch her breath and her head was still lowered.

"Look at me."

She slowly lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes.

"Me and Cecelia went _to_ a wedding. We are _not_ getting married."

She gasped and looked at him in disbelief.

"Okay? Went to… not getting. We weren't even in the wedding. It was her cousin's wedding. We were only dating about a month, anyway. Why would we rush off to get married? That's way too soon. Like I said… Tracey can be an idiot."

Misty paused. She couldn't believe it. All she was going through… had absolutely no merit behind it. More to the point… she just cried and panicked… put Ash through this nightmare… made him scream and shout… all for nothing.

"So… what you're saying is…" she paused. "I just made a complete idiot out of myself?"

Ash chuckled. "No. Not at all."

"Wait." She paused again. There was something in Ash's explanation she heard but wasn't sure about. Something that she just barely caught and was praying… absolutely praying she heard right. "Did you say… 'w-were' dating?"

He held his smiled. He nodded, "Yeah."

"Then…"

He scoffed then shrugged. It was too funny what he was about to admit… but he had to tell her. "We were at the wedding and realized that that would never be us. We both knew it and had the guts enough to admit it. We came back and called everything off. It wasn't bad. Quite cool actually. She's actually dating someone else, now. Old friend of hers she grew up with. Nice guy."

A small ray of hope came back. "So… so…"

"Yeah… you managed to catch me when I just happened to be on the market. Very hard to do with a catch like myself."

They both laughed. Misty was grateful. She missed just getting to laugh with Ash.

He took hold of her hand. She almost felt herself melt at his touch. She missed him taking her hand like this. He guided her to stand back up.

Once they were both vertical, she realized something: he held on to her hand.

She couldn't have imagined a more welcome gesture.

"Look…" he began, "yeah, I was mad at you. And, yeah, you coming here out of the blue brought a lot of that back up but… I can't… I never could stay mad at you."

She actually smiled. A genuine outright, full-blown smile. First time in a year.

"See? It's that darn smile of yours. Makes me forgive you, immediately."

She blushed.

He sighed. "I can get how life rough is. Choices are hard to make. I get it. You made a choice… and… it was rough on both of us. And the stuff that happened between was hard: the aftermath and everything. But… if we really are going to do this again… then, I don't want us to start over. We've done too much together before last year to have a clean slate. Besides… prior to a year… heck, even with that, all the things we've been through has made us who we are. Let's just admit what happened and work through it. Face it head on. Like we used to deal with everything that came our way."

She was almost in disbelief. She asked for a second chance… and Ash was giving to her. "You want to… with me?"

"Well, yeah. Who else would I go through all this with? I mean… one of the reasons me and Cecelia knew it wouldn't work?"

"Mmhmm?"

"When I was at the wedding… I was actually wondering… what you would like in a wedding dress."

That ray of hope she felt earlier turned into a sunshine.

"And… if I was the lucky guy… who got to be your groom…"

She held her breath. "R-R… really?"

He nodded. "Yep… especially since I never stopped loving you."

From sunshine to supernova.

That was all she needed to hear.

Misty wasted no time and throwing her arms around Ash's neck, pulling him into a tight hug. He just chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

He had forgiven her.

He accepted her apology.

He even still loved her.

She started crying again but this time… these tears were more than welcome.

"I thought I lost you…" Misty said.

"Nah, never gonna happen," Ash replied.

"I should have. I should have lost you forever. I took for granted what I had."

He released the embrace so he could look into her eyes. "But I'm still here."

"I love you, Ash. I love you so much. And I am so sorry…"

"I love you, too, Misty. I never stopped. I couldn't stop. And don't be sorry. We had to go through things. Call it lessons learned."

Tears were still falling but she smiled and nodded.

"Can…" she said, timidly, "can I kiss you now? Please?"

He smiled. He playfully looked up, as if trying to remember something, "I'm trying to remember the part where I told you you had to ask."

She, immediately and fully, pressed her lips to his, getting his not-at-all-subtle hint. Ash returned the kiss with as much fervor as she was giving. And maybe it was just her or the fact that she hadn't done it in so long, but Misty was amazed at how heart fluttering it was to kiss Ash again and how it easy it was to just melt away from it. Ash felt the same way… he _had_ been waiting a year for this, after all.

After the kiss, they stood holding each other close, with Misty leaning into Ash's shoulder.

"I am so sorry…" Misty said quietly. "I should never have left."

"I should have let you know something when you did…" Ash said.

Misty looked him in the eyes.

"That I more than love you, Misty. More than in love with you. I need you. I'm only at my best… when I have you. And without you…" He shook his head, "Man, I don't what I am… but it's definitely nothing to compared when I'm with you." He lightly caressed her face with his hand, "And I love you so much… even when I was with Cecelia… I never stopped thinking about you… hoping you were okay… even praying… you would come back…"

He needed her. She couldn't have imagined better words.

"I need you, too, Ash… always have… always will…"

He caressed her face again, "Welcome back, Mist. Welcome… home."

"They say its where the heart is…"

"They got that right, whoever they are."

She smiled. "You'll never be rid of me again. I hope that's okay."

He smiled. "I can live with that."

* * *

How about that, huh? I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

Anyway, my moral and point: guys, we all make mistakes. Some bigger than others. But we can always try to make amends for them. Does it always work out? No. But is it worth it to try? Every single time. Never give up, my friends. That's the real lesson. It may be hard and life may be rough but never give up. Sometimes, we have to work through the thorns to get to the rose. Stay strong, my friends. You are important. You matter. And, your dark days? They don't last always. I can testify to that.

Whew! That was heavy! Alright! Read, review, reflect! Love you all! See you real soon!


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